Chapter 1
We Grin
The excitement ran like lightning through the crowd as they gathered, awaiting the Warlord's address. Pegasi were packed into the small pavilion, standing too close for any to fan out their wings. Any room that would have been between the grouped horses was taken up by snow. The pavilion was built of white cloud, shaped into curving arches and spiraling columns with a big amphitheater set center forward, for all to see. The pegasi stood in lines; soldiers up front, gruesome scars forcing their grim smiles. Flanking the army were civilians, who were backed themselves by the elderly. The high guards hovered over the entrances to the pavilion, and flew high across the sky, watching down on their charge.
Rainbow Dash stood among the soldiers; while she had not earned the honor to smile yet, she was still a recruit and given almost the same honor. She kept her head forward, her neck straight and her back stiff. She was to be a solider after all, soon to bear her burden and earn her grin. The crowds murmuring annoyed her, but nothing could compare with the claustrophobia. With wings pressed tight against her body, the confined space was unbearable. She had always felt truly at home in the sky, the wind running through her buzz cut mane and short, tied back tail. Dash swore she could taste the sweet air on her tongue now, and hear the whine of the breeze being cut through. She shifted her stance, much to the chagrin to the cream hued stallion to the right of her. He shot her a glare.
"Keep still, Blankie." He growled, raising his back hoof to kick her on the flank.
Rainbow blushed, embarrassed and enraged, but more of the latter than the former was shown to the adjacent pegasus. Shoving her wings back to cover her bare flank she muttered back, "You haven't got your grin yet either, whelp, and a mark in bakery doesn't scream 'master warrior' to me, or anypony else," whispering a shout, force and venom dripping off the words. "So, I am not your target." She checked him with her hip. "Don't treat me like it."
Horns sounded, shattering the tension between the two. The stallion grumbled as he turned away, straightening his shoulders and setting his head forward again. The crowd's dull murmuring roar came to a crescendo of cheering and shrieks. A black streak shot above them, piercing through the sound with a high pitched droning of wings batting. Rainbow's heart jumped into her throat as Warlord Black Blur landed before them, flaring his wings. Both were a shimmering white gray, matching his albino mane and tail, both of which dragged for feet behind him before curling into a neat pile raised by his attendants. Only he knew the secret of the darkness that followed him.
Some claimed it was his shadow, rumored that it was controlled by the Warlord and used to battle. Others insisted it was the souls of those he had defeated; even in death their lives were his eternally. The crowd cheered on, hooves were stamping and, for those who had room, wings pumping to create a forceful draft, sending a wave down the Warlord's mane. The sight elicited even more calls and cries. This went on until the albino pegasus spoke.
"Brothers, sisters, we have gathered here to see off our ambassadors. As all of you know, they will be moving to meet with the....others." It was rare that the booming voice of Black Blur was heard, and rarer still that he would address the other tribes by name. "The earth ponies still refuse to supply us with our necessary rations, and the unicorns fear to fight against us any longer." Another cheer rose from the crowd as the ambassadors joined the Warlord on the stage, the three red ponies that had been handpicked by the Warlord himself. "Before they leave, I wish to announce a moment of silence, to honor our fallen comrades, and to usher in the new world; a world ruled by the true masters: the masters of the sky!" One final cheer rose from the mob, then all fell silent suddenly. Everypony's heads were hung as the pensive silence washed over them all.
Rainbow found the silence eerie, standing within so many ponies and not a single noise. She heard something, however. Something that Rainbow couldn't quite make out. It sounded like rattling, coming from her left, as if somepony were clanging pots and pans against each other. She turned her head, looking for the source of the sound. As she gazed, she became aware of eyes boring into the back of her head. The sudden clamp around her neck proved her paranoia true. Ripped from the crowd, Rainbow tumbled to the ground beside her line. An elder pony, Captain Feather Foot, pounced atop her, pinning her legs under his strong, midnight blue hooves.
"Whelp!" The elder soldier's voice tore through the silence like a sword through butter. Heads snapped around, eyes wide at the spectacle before them. "Now, what makes you oh-so special that the Warlord's words hold no command over you?" Spittle flew from the old stallion's chops in a full arch. "I know myself and my fellow officers have told you, times beyond count, about stepping out of line. Did you think we were joking?" Though his mouth was twisted down into a grimace of anger, the scars on his mouth constantly portrayed a grim smile."Or perhaps you thought we were speaking in them metaphors?"
"N-no sir." She whimpered, her legs were sore with the weight of the great pony pressing down on them. He had not been called Feather Foot for being silent or graceful; it had been a mocking name by his sergeant as, no matter how low the rations were, he managed to keep a heavy frame.
"Then why is it that whenever we leave you alone you seem to find yourself out of line and disobeying our orders?" He snapped, still shouting. Rainbow gulped, frantically trying to think of a way to abide the wrath of the captain.
"But, sir, I-" She began to explain.
He hushed her, speaking over the quickly mumbled explanations. "Your grinning is today isn't it?" Rainbow nodded, sweat was running down her face now, fearful of where the elder was going. "It would be a shame if you were to miss your chance this year." He told her, digging his hooves in harder, Dash could feel blood welting on her right leg. "Well luckily..." he lifted his blood flecked hoof, dulling the glint of iron that had been hammered onto the wide pony's hoof. The shoed foot set down on her wing, putting enough pressure for her to feel it, not enough to do any real damage but enough to send fear coursing furiously through her veins. "...You haven't got any reason to miss it yet. Yet."
"No... Please." She whispered a hoarse, rasping plea, "Anything... just not... that." Dash felt a few tears prick at the sides of her eyes. "Please, I'm-I'm begging you. Please, sir." The two held eye contact for a moment longer before the hoof rose from her wing, his eyes never leaving hers, the glowing coals forced her to look away, ashamed and abashed. "Thank you, sir." She muttered, noticing that it was not only the more immediate ponies around her that were watching, the speech had ended a short while ago and now everypony in the audience was watching with extreme interest.
"Back in line." Feather Foot growled each word as if it were its own sentence. "I expect you on time and recovered for your grinning, tonight." With that, the old Pegasus leapt from the ground and flew away, leaving a trail of feathers behind him.
Rainbow stood, her face once again blushed with embarrassment. "What're you all lookin' at?" She yelled at the crowd. Glancing at the stage she sighed; the Warlord was gone, she had missed the entire speech. "Well? Back off!" She told the remaining ponies. They all finally left, most with a mocking, pitying smile to give to her.
Once the great mass of the ponies had left, Rainbow left to find the source of the noise. She lifted off the ground, working out the kinks in her wings as she flapped. She could still hear the sound of faint clanging, it was moving away from her now and very quickly to boot. Rainbow knew she was faster. Hunkering down, she flapped her wings harder and harder, until the muscles burned pleasantly with strain. She quickly caught up with the clattering noise and landed behind the pony that was producing the racket. It was Fluttershy, the yellow colored pony who was armored like a tank. Darkened metal that had been hammered to fit her shape to leave no part of her body exposed, but allowed versatile movement of her wings and legs, clung to her form. She was shaking in the armor, whether from strain, fear, or simply her paranoia, Dash was unsure.
“Hey Fluttershy,” She prodded the jumpy pony with her front left hoof, “you might-" the armored Pegasus leapt almost a foot in the air, despite the heavy armor she wore and spun to face Rainbow, bucking with her front hooves and shouting warnings at her “assailant.” Her eyes were closed the entire time as Rainbow dodged her flying feet.
“Go away!” Even when she yelled her voice was quiet and meek. “I’m giving you a chance to run before I…I...I’ll hurt you!” Her threats resounded in her helmet. Even with the echoes, the threats sounded empty and weak. She finally cracked open her eye and saw Rainbow ducking and weaving away from her kicks. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry, Dash.” She said, dropping back onto all fours. She bore her normal bashful expression, Rainbow could tell by her mouth since her helm only revealed that part of her face to showcase her grin.
“It’s ok; I just wanted to tell you your armor might need refitting.” Dash was used to her friend’s panic attacks. “I shouldn’t be sneaking up on you like that in the first place.” Rainbow's voice shook, this was hardly the first time she had startled Fluttershy, but since her grinning the timid Pegasus had almost killed her a dozen times over.
“It’s fine, really, you don’t need to worry about me. I doubt I could hurt anyone if I tried.” She whispered. Fluttershy never made eye contact with the other ponies, but Rainbow Dash had grown accustom to it.
The two started to walk together, away from the pavilion and off into the main part of Cloudsdale. The buildings here, like the pavilion were solid formations of cloud, something that only a master Pegasus craftsmen could design. Civilian ponies were hard to find in the giant sprawling sky city as most fillies and colts were trained from the age of five to fifteen and then tested to see if they were fit to serve the army. The only exceptions were the crippled, the dumb, the senile and anyone who had a gift for building as their talents were best spent constructing new homes and barracks.
“Your grinning is this evening.” Fluttershy stated, didn’t ask, as it was a known fact. This was the day of the monthly grinning for all those who had achieved age. “Are you ready for it?”
“How could I be ready when I have no idea what they will do to me?” Dash asked her friend, looking at Fluttershy’s own grin. It was smaller than most, only cutting about half an inch upward into her face. “Why can’t you tell me what they intend to do to me? I’m your friend, aren't I?"
Fluttershy looked up, finally making eye contact with her. “Every pony experiences it differently, but they all have to go in unprepared for the job ahead." Her gentle voice had been replaced by almost a hiss. "The only thing I can tell you is that it will be the single most difficult thing of your life… trust me.” The yellow pony’s voice trailed off the last few words and she fell quiet. Dash realized that her friend was sobbing behind the mask. Tears ran down her scarred face and into her armor.
“Will it hurt?” Rainbow had to ask.
“More than you can imagine.” Fluttershy whimpered, fresh tears sliding down her face. “More than any of your month can imagine.” Rainbow looked at the blurry cloud hidden dot that was the sun. It had started its descent to nightfall. In a few hours Rainbow Dash would be grinning with her friend.
Night came at last; the day had dragged on longer than it should have. At least in Rainbow’s mind, it had. Her month had gathered outside their barracks where they had been told to gather their things, then commanded to move out, following their Sergeant. Dash picked up the burlap sack filled with all the valuable possessions she could scavenge. She doubted that she would ever see her old barracks home again after this night.
They trekked on for more than an hour, the moon floating higher and higher into the sky, its already dim light masked by the ever present cloud cover. It was a quarter waning tonight, and the body was so close that Rainbow was sure that if she reached out she could grab it in her hooves. Stars twinkled, forming constellations that she couldn’t dream of remembering. Still, they went on. Some mares and stallions started to lag behind and a few collapsed all together. Dash understood, though, this was the first part of the test: endurance in both walking and flying as they alternated between the two.
After almost six hours of galloping, trotting, flying and a few swift canters, Dash had managed to convince herself that the follow the leader was the entire initiation. “They’ll just cut our grins in and we’ll all be done, simple as that!” She thought, even though in her mind she knew far better.
They finally stopped on a small bank of thick cumulus clouds, each recruit breathing heavily. Six captains awaited the congregation there. Dash only recognized her own, Feather Foot. It was a few moments before they addressed the crowd.
“Fillies and colts, today you all awoke as whelps, but tonight you leave as gallant soldiers in the Warlords great army,” A jet black mare spoke to them in a rumbling voice “For all those who wish to surrender now,” a few ears perked up and others rose from the wet faux ground that they stood on, as they imagined the end of the sentence that never came, “tough luck. You've made it this far, and owe a debt to your tribe to fight and keep the Warlord’s peace. Tonight you will be earning your grins, and it's never an easy task. I can barely recall my own grinning.
"It is as clear as night sky above us; that is not of consequence, as tonight is all about you. Should you prove yourself worthy of carrying the weight of your tribe, then you will always find welcome, a place for your wings to rest and a fire to warm your chilled bones, here with us. Should you fail here tonight…” The captain would not finish, and Feather foot continued as if the result wasn't obvious.
“You will die.” He told them all bluntly. Rainbow gulped, trying to lower the frog that was climbing up her throat. “Your strength will be pushed to the limit and, depending on that limit, some of you will die; of that I have no doubt. The Warlord demands perfection of, not only you, but of all of us. If any of you try to run, you will be killed. If any of you tell anypony else of what we will do here, both you and them will be killed.” Feather Foot whistled and at his command a bank of clouds split, allowing an entire regiment of Pegasi to fly through, each balancing a gigantic rock dangerously on their backs, but each of the carriers held the stones as if they weighed no more than pebbles. "You will cast aside the bags you have brought with you as a symbol. Your old lives are gone, dead, never to return. Your new lives begin if you survive this night."
It took Rainbow a moment to notice that the horses before them were bridled. Coarse rope was clenched in between their jaws. The rope ran backward, over their bodies and was tied to the rocks. “Oh no," she jumped to her feet; puffs of cloud were sent flying and quickly dispersed when the wind grabbed hold of them. “This is stupid, how did this ever seem like a good idea?” The flying soldiers touched down behind her and the rest of her month.
“This 'stupid' ritual has been passed down through our ranks since the great War-lady, Blood Mane. She left a few nights after her election, hours before her inauguration. She came back bearing her own grin, working almost up to her ears. She told nopony of her mutilation, save for her closest generals. She explained to them what our motto became. She said, 'The people have chosen me; I have been elevated and chosen from the entire herd to lead our people. I will have to make choices, choices that will break me and choices that will bring about my own immortality in their minds. My father used to remind me, when I was a young filly, that when a filly becomes a mare, expectations come with her maturity. My life is not in my control; it is in the control of the gods and the citizens who chose me. The only thing I can do is grin and bear it." The captains surrounded Rainbow and the others, clustering them into one big clump. "That is why we grin. That is how the tradition began. If you are so fearful, I will have no qualms about ending your life this very instant." Nopony spoke, letting the threat hang. The night was quiet, save for the heavy breathing of the last stragglers of the journey landed and stared, confused, at the grouping before them.
"Is everything ok?" Rainbow recognized the voice as the stallion that had kicked her. "If these foals have done anything...I still get my grin don't I?" He sounded agitated and his voice was edged with impatience.
"Whelp Crusty," The jet black mare spoke again, addressing her charge with a brutish voice. "You will earn your grin if you are strong enough."
The stragglers finally noticed the rocks and the bridles, and Crusty took this in stride "So, this is our task? Easy enough, when do we start? Once Blankie stops whining?"
Rainbow bristled "I'm not whining. I'm protesting this horrible, barbaric, stupid rite! And the name is Rainbow Dash, not 'Blankie' and both are a hell of a lot better than Crusty." She growled.
Crusty laughed, "I'm sure, or is it, simply, you're afraid?"
Rainbow glowered at the stallion. "I'm not scared. Not for myself." A breeze rolled through the clouds, the chill cutting the ponies to the bone.
From behind her, Rainbow heard a shout "Don't speak for us, we've all been waiting for this so don't ruin our glory with your fear." The wind started to whistle, setting Rainbow's hair on edge. She held her tongue for once, keeping silent.
The whelps formed a line, each one shivering and blaming the now howling wind. The perpetual snow fell faster and thicker, great clumps formed thick on each of the whelps. They all hovered a few feet to the left of a black cloud. Feather Foot leaned over the edge of it, calling down to the initiates. "The rocks will be dropped on my count. At three, be prepared to lift with all your might. If you are able to reach the height of this cloud you will be a serving member of His great army." He didn't need to explain what would happen if they couldn't.
Rainbow tried to lick her lips, but the rugged rope took up all the room in her mouth. She could scarcely breathe. Dash couldn't help but look back at the mare who held her stone, a black-gray monolith that must have weighed thrice as much as she did. The mare holding the rock smiled sincerely, looking supportive in spite of the horrible looking grin that Rainbow now saw as a marring feature rather than a sign of strength. The captains had ruined that for her.
"On three," She could faintly hear Feather Foot with the blood rushing in her ears. "One...”
Thunder rang, but the sound was short lived as Rainbow felt herself falling at incomparable speeds towards the ground. The panic gripped her in its ice cold talons. She twisted her head in each direction, learning that she wasn't the only one who had been left to plummet. Everypony in attendance had fallen, save for the captains and the rock bearers.
"My wings..." Her wings folded out of her body, slowing the descent and giving her back control. She managed to stop about twenty meters from the ground, flaring wings hard. The rope bit into her cheeks, the stone pulling her head back, but she fought to keep her neck straight. A loud whistle shot passed her right ear, along with a muffled shriek. From the corner of her eye, Dash saw a cream shape fall and hit the ground, accompanied by a sickening wet crunch. Crusty wouldn't be earning his grin.
Rainbow snapped back to her current predicament as the rope ripped into her cheeks. Now that falling had been postponed, the issue remained of how she was to lift the monolith to the finish point. She wasn’t given much time to think as another pony dropped past and painted the ground. All of the death around her made the blood running down her cheeks and dripping off her flank all the more prevalent. Dash fired up her wings, flapping hard and powerfully, dragging the rock up half a foot. Already her wings were burning, salty water pooled in her eyes and on her puffed out face, and those that fell made the rope wet, a small reprieve, unnoticeable in the pain Dash felt. “Come on, come on!” She screamed inwardly, motivating herself to pump her wings harder, faster. It wasn’t until she had risen twenty feet that she realized how much of a mistake it was to push herself so hard. The rope had more ability to cut her while she wore herself out much too quickly to make the remaining thirty feet. Her eyelids drooped; exhaustion was trying to claim a victory over the pony. Still, she fought; keeping her wings batting at incredible speeds, she rose five more feet, and the rope moved another half inch into her face.
“It’s not enough,” The pitying thought finally claimed her resolve “I can’t do it…” In defeat, Rainbow closed her eyes, preparing for the fall, ready to welcome the ground that awaited. Her wings, however, refused to adhere. Faster and faster they flapped, beating the air down and the resigned pony higher. As Rainbows eyes closed for what she feared was the last time, she felt a tingling sensation run up her spine and into her wings, and would swear to her grave, as close as it was, that she heard an explosion.
Hours later, Rainbow awoke, sore and cramped, resting on an air light bed of clouds in the infirmary. Raising her neck, Dash searched for anypony else who might be with her, but a sudden spasm set her back on the pillow. “Easy there Blankie,” Feather Foot’s calm voice came from her left “you won’t be moving for, at the very least two months.” She felt the captain pat her gently on the shoulder. “You’re one of us now Blankie, you’re in on the big joke that all us soldiers share.” Feather appeared before her, a mirror clutched in his hooves. Dash gasped at the sight of her face; a wide scar was set on either side of her mouth, racing up to her ears before stopping abruptly parallel to her eyes. “The spitting image of Warlady Blood herself Blankie. Listen to me, still calling you by your whelping nickname.” He stood, patting her flank reassuringly. “There is a pony that has been waiting for our leave to see you, I’ll fetch her. You just relax Rainbow Dash; you’ve got a colored career ahead of you.” The captain chuckled at his joke and took his hoof away from the mark on her flank. A grey cloud nestled atop the blunt edge of a red, blue, and yellow lightning bolt. She fell asleep there, the last thing she heard was Fluttershy's attempt at concerned shouting before the world around her blacked out and she drifted off underneath a great banner that conveyed the motto of her new owners. "We must grin. Grin and bear your weight."
And still the snow fell, and still the sky held. And still the ponies wept.